Best Canon IXUS: top cameras reviewed

Find the best IXUS camera for your needs

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Updated: Now with the latest market prices, including those for Canon IXUS cameras in Australia.

The Canon IXUS range, known as the PowerShot ELPH range in the US, features a wide selection of models that, on the face of it, can make it hard to know which is best camera for your needs. We run through each model's key specifications to make it easier to evaluate which is the best Canon IXUS for you.

The IXUS range is designed with design simplicity and point-and-shoot users in mind, but it's also well known for good image quality.

Despite their small size the IXUS cameras usually have a pretty comprehensive specification and a number of models sport a touchscreen interface for a more intuitive control.

It's not an exhaustive product line, but there are crucial feature differences between one IXUS camera and the next. Here's our take on the best Canon IXUS models…

Canon IXUS 125 HS / Canon PowerShot ELPH 110 HS

Though it's an entry-level model, the pocket-sized IXUS 125 HS has a respectable specification that includes the same DIGIC 5 processor as Canon's recent SLRs and compact cameras higher up the line.

In addition, the sensor is a 16.1MP back-illuminated CMOS device that produces decent results in a range of conditions, even when the highest sensitivity setting (ISO 3200) is used.

With a focal length equivalence of 24-120mm, the lens is also versatile. Novices will particularly appreciate the Smart Auto mode that automatically selects the best camera settings from a selection of 58 presets, which should cover most situations.

Canon IXUS 240 HS / Canon PowerShot ELPH 320

Like all Canon's HS cameras, the IXUS 240 HS/PowerShot ELPH 320 has a backlit CMOS sensor which helps to maximise the amount of light reaching the sensor and keep noise level's down.

With an equivalent focal length range of 24-120mm the lens is versatile providing a wide view for shooting landscapes and interiors and enough telephoto reach for composing nice head and shoulder portraits or picking out details.

On the back of the camera is a 3.2-inch 461,000-dot touchscreen that allows settings adjustments to be made.

Canon IXUS 500 HS / Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS

Canon's IXUS 500 HS has the same rectangular styling, pixel count and zoom range as the Canon IXUS 510, but without the touchscreen functionality or Wi-Fi connectivity, making it more attractive to 'old school' photographers looking for a point-and-shoot camera to slip in a pocket.

This solid feeling camera has small buttons, so it may not suit those with big, sausage-like fingers, but the controls are easy to get to grips with and using the camera is plain-sailing.

Thanks to the DIGIC 5 processing engine the IXUS 500 HS also starts up quickly and produces decent results in double-quick time.

Canon IXUS 510 HS / Canon PowerShot ELPH 530 HS

The back of the IXUS 510 HS is almost completely filled by the 3.2-inch 461,000-dot touch-sensitive LCD screen. Built-in Wi-Fi technology allows quick and easy image sharing to another camera, a mobile phone, a computer or Facebook.

Sensitivity can be set to up to ISO 3200 in Program mode, though the best results are obtained by keeping to ISO 800 or below.

All things considered the IXUS 510 HS is a decent solution for the casual photographer who wants a small camera that takes better images than there cameraphone and allows them to be shared directly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Head of Testing, Cameras

Angela (Twitter, Google+, website) is head of testing for Future's photography portfolio, writing and overseeing reviews of photographic equipment for Digital Camera, Photography Week, PhotoPlus, NPhoto and Practical Photoshop as well as TechRadar's cameras channel. Angela has a degree in photography and multimedia and prior to joining Future in October 2010 was Amateur Photographer magazine's technical editor.